Artists of the week: Nikka Contursi and Alex Nakashioya

Photographer Nikka Contursi enjoys working in photoshop and creating gel transfer prints. Her work has been shown at the Laguna Art Museum and Laguna Beach Pageant of the Masters. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

When arts teachers dream about the kind of students they want in their classes, Nikka Contursi and Alex Nakashioya are the types that come to mind.

Contursi will be a senior this fall at JSerra Catholic High School. She is an eager student who has been working on her photography skills since junior high. Three of her photographs have been on display all summer at the Laguna Beach Pageant of the Masters. She has also shown her work at the Huntington Beach Gallery as a part of the Imagination Celebration and at the Laguna Art Museum. According to her teacher Regina Stehney, she is a master of the darkroom, Photoshop and alternative processing, and understands how to utilize various techniques, from digital to film, fisheye to wide angle. She plans to study photography in college and turn this art form into her profession.

Nakashioya, a recent graduate of Marina High School, only recently discovered his love for ceramics. A busy high school student, Alex didn’t get around to taking his required art class until his senior year when he signed up for Michelle Dziadkowicz’s ceramics class. He quickly discovered that he loved working with clay and wanted to learn everything about this medium. Delighted with his quick progress and insatiable interest, Dziadkowicz let him experiment with sculpting and spinning pots on the pottery wheel even though he was just a beginner. Nakashioya even started to show up at the AP ceramics class to try out the new techniques he was learning about through YouTube videos. In the fall, he’ll start his first semester at USC but doesn’t plan to switch majors to ceramics just yet. However, he doesn’t plan to wait until his senior year in college to take another ceramics class.

Name: Alex Kiyoshi Nakashioya

School: Marina High School; USC in the fall

Grade: recently graduated

Hometown: Huntington Beach

What art form(s) do you work in? Ceramics

How did you get involved in art? Choosing classes for my senior year at Marina High School, I was required to take an art class of some type to graduate. Other than a general art class taken in middle school, I had very little experience in a formal art class. So I signed up for ceramics, and by the first few weeks of class I had absolutely fallen in love with ceramics! My teacher, Mrs. Dziadkowicz, helped kindle my interest through her instruction, enthusiasm, demonstrations, pieces of work, and even letting me borrow some ceramics books. I began to look up videos of ceramics on YouTube and continued to love this art form even more.

What is your favorite work of art? I had never been able to draw or paint the humanoid appearance so I thought I’d give it a try with clay instead. A few days later I gave birth to the face of a woman. It was something I felt proud of and it made me want to do more and push further. So I decided to make a sculpture of a hand, which was quite a bit more difficult but also quite a bit more fun to create and quite a bit more satisfying when I finished. Oddly enough, as I was working on it, friends and family told me that it resembled my own hand. With no obvious intention of doing so, I went with it and left the hand in an active pose, grasping something, maybe a pencil, paintbrush or other tool. Still now, I don’t know what to put in this hand, but regardless, it remains my favorite piece of work.

Who have been your influences? Did you have a mentor in your development as an artist? If so, how did they help you? Throughout this year, my ceramics teacher, Mrs. Dziadkowicz, has consistently encouraged and mentored me. From the minute I showed an interest in the class, she was right there to help. I would not have been able to master the different techniques without her encouragement. She would often stay after class to let me and other students work on our projects. After a long day of academic studies and other school activities, it was relaxing to spend time on my ceramics projects. After discussing my ideas with Ms. D, she would often go out to purchase additional supplies, such as new glazes, so that we could experiment with different colors.

What inspires you? In the beginning of the year, I thought I was one of a few kids to find so much joy in ceramics, but as I continued to work and talk to my friends about it, I was able to get many of them more interested. As the year progressed, I got more of my friends to work on a throwing wheel or stay after class and work. As the number of friends with me increased after class, so too did my desire to build or sculpt or throw clay. By the end of the school year, I had friends who were not even taking the class ask to join us, and they all served as my inspiration for my art.

Other than art, are you involved in any other activities? If so, what are they? I have always enjoyed staying very active in and out of school. Alongside all the studying, I still make time to do other things. I’ve served in student government (ASB) for four years, participated on the swim and water polo teams and served as publicity chair for the Make-A-Wish Club on campus.

Outside of school, I’ve been active in my Boy Scout Troop 578 and became an Eagle Scout. I also enjoy playing the guitar. I believe that being active in my school and community has enabled me to make the most out of my high school experience. Little did I know that working in ceramics would be next on my list of activities, but I feel it makes me a more well-rounded person. .

What do you get out of creating art? One reason I started really getting into ceramics was that it provided a way for me to relax and work out any of the stress in my day. Studying for several AP classes and applying to colleges all while trying to maintain a social life took its toll on me, and ceramics helped me relax and have fun.

How do the arts figure in to your long-term goals? Next year, I will be attending the University of Southern California as an undeclared major at the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. I am uncertain of what my specific career goals are, but I am interested in the sciences. Although I don’t foresee making a long-term career out of ceramics, I would love to continue to work in ceramics and possibly even sell a few pieces.

What is the best advice you have received? The best advice I’ve received was just to love and be happy with your work. So many times my piece doesn’t resemble the original image I had in mind, or the colors come out of the kiln completely different than I had imagined. This made me realize that change is a big part of ceramics. Each piece is unique and still a work of my own hands.

Do you have any other thoughts about being an artist that you would like to share with us? Try something new! So much of my time in ceramics was spent experimenting: What do these two glazes look like together? Can I build it without breaking? What can I do that’s different? What can I do that’s challenging? I wouldn’t have the pieces that I have today if I hadn’t actively pushed to try something new and different. I wouldn’t have even found my talent for ceramics if I hadn’t tried something new. Before ceramics, I felt that I was miles away from being an artist while trying to draw or paint. So, try something new, and if it doesn’t work out, try something else!

Photographer Nikka Contursi enjoys working in photoshop and creating gel transfer prints. Her work has been shown at the Laguna Art Museum and Laguna Beach Pageant of the Masters. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Alex Nakashioya, a recent graduate of Marina High School, only recently discovered his love for ceramics. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Photographer Nikka Contursi recently stopped by the Register studio for a portrait. The 17-year-old senior at JSerra Catholic High School is gaining acclaim for her photography. She enjoys working in photoshop and creating gel transfer prints. Her work has been shown at the Laguna Art Museum and Laguna Beach Pageant of the Masters. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Alex Nakashioya, a recent graduate of Marina High School, only recently discovered his love for ceramics. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Photographer Nikka Contursi enjoys working in photoshop and creating gel transfer prints. Her work has been shown at the Laguna Art Museum and Laguna Beach Pageant of the Masters. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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